Flue and valve system for furnaces.



PATENTED MAR. 10, 1908. J. B. MGKENNAN- PLUB AND VALVE SYSTEM FOR. FURNACES.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 14, 1906.

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No. 881,328. PATENTED MAR; 10, 1 908.

J. B. McKBNNAN.

FLUB AND VALVE SYSTEM FOR FURNACES.

APPLIO TION FILED M Y1 1 o A A 9 6 ssanms-snzs a.

' witnesses No. 881,328. PATENTED MAR. 10, 1908.

(I. B, MOKENNAN. I FLUE "'AND VALVE SYSTEM FOR FURNACES.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 14, 1906. 5 SHEBTS SHEET 5.

Wi ha eases JACOB BON MGKENNAN, OF- PUEBLO, COLORADO.

Ann VAL E svsanm non summons.

No. senses. h

Specification of Letters'latent.

Patented March 10,, 1908.

. a nea-an as May 14, mos. Serial No. 316,773.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that 1, Jason BOWMAN Mo- KENNAN, a-citizen of the United States, re-

siding-at Pueblo, in the county of Pueblo reversing; and by means of whichthe prowithout providing a special stack-connection either. the horizontall -reciprocating or the ducer fiues can periodically bufned out for that purpose, the furnace and all the regenerativechambers be rapidly and simultaneously cooled for repairs, and the heat in the furnace and regenerators eflectively retained when the furnace, is temporarily shut down. y Y I In the drawings, Figure 1 is a diagrammatic plan of one form of an open hearth furnace provided with my flue and valve system, showing the use of s'impleoperiing and closing valves; Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line Il'.'ll of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a plan of a modification of the flue system only, showing the s stem adapted for reversing valves on hot inlet and outlet-flues; Fig. 4 is a plan of a system adapted to the use of duplex reversing valves of the tgpe shown in my copending application, er. Fig. 5 is a plan of two further modifications adapted to the use of reversing valves, one modification being shown on either side of the center ljinec, of the stack and furnace Fig. 6 is aisection'on either 'of the lines VIY I, of Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is a plan of a further modification adapted to the use of simple opening and closing valves of.

lift-type on the supp y flues and reversing valves on the draft lines; Fig. 8 is a plan of a further modification adapted to the use of lift valves of the type shown in my copendin application Ser. No. 316,772.

%n the various figures, 1' represents the furnace, 2, 2, the air re enerators, 3,3, the

gas 'regenerators and 4 t e stack, Each air regenerator isl provided with aflue 6 having two branches, or outlets 7, 8; the former of these branches being. the intake or supply flue and the latter, the stacker draft flue. In like manner, each gas regenerator is provided with a flue 9 havingtwo branches 10, 11; the former being the gas-main connection, and the latter the stack or draft flue.

.Each flue -outlet has a short vertical section 12, as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 6, which sections extend through the waterpans of the controlling valves 'as is usual with Water-sealed valves. I

In Fig. 'l, the air-valve 13 is represented as open, air-valve 14, closed; gas-valve '15, open; gas valve 16, .closed; draft valves 17 18, open and draft-valves 19, 20, closed.

.With this arrangement, it will be'apparent that the right-hand regenerators are heating the air-. and fuel-supply for the furnace; while the checkers of the left-hand regenerators are being heated by the. products of combustion. 7 To reverse the furnace, valves 13, 15, 17 and 18, are reciprocated to closed position and valves 14, 16, 19 and 20 then opened. When the valves are operated in this manner, "it will be noted that there is no possibility of ease e of as direct to the stack, as with a utter y reverse 'valve; besides which, the gas-regenerator and fines just closed will havebeen partially, emptied to the furnace by expansion and the pull of the stack; so that a considerable saving of gas is effected. Neither is there liability of explosion in the furnace-hearth, due to the meeting of the unconsumed mixture of gas and air with a counter-current of products of combustion; as frequently happens in other types of reversin furnaces.

-When it is desired to urn out the soot and other forms of carbon which accumulate in the gas main (which burning out is usually done at the'close of the weeks run when the furnaces and gas-producers are not in operation), valves 15, 16, 17 arui 19, are each 0 ened, air is admitted to the as-main near t e producers, a fire is starte in the sootencumbercd passages and, with the strong, direct draft t us established, the carbon depositsare rapidly burned out and the fine ashes carried up the stack;

To rapidly cool the furnace and regenerators for re airs, su ply-valves 13, 14,15 and 16 are eac close and draft-valves 17, 18, 19 and 20 each opened, the furnace-doors 7 opened and the stacksdamper 21 opened full.

all the chambers equally.

When the furnace is temporarily shut down at the end of the run, or for any other reason, and no repairs are necessary, the heat in'the furnace and re enerators canbe efiectivelyretained by c osing all the draft-valves. Since all these valves are water-sealed, the stack is thus prevented from drawing air into the furnace and regenerators .through or around the furnace doors or through leaks in the brickwork. In ordinary reversing furnaces, the only manner of cutting ofi draft from all the regeneratorssimultaneously is by closing the stack-dam er; and, as such dampers cannot be made absolutely airtight, the circulation carries oi? the heat more rapidly than in m construction.

In the modification s own in Fig. 3; the eight sim le opening and closing valves are replaced y two single reversing valves 22, 23, and the double draft-valve 24 of the t es shown in Figs. 5 and 6 of my Patent 0. 853,722, May 14, 1907. The modification of this figure has the advantage of a smaller number of valves which may be simultaneously shifted to reverse the iurnace, and the gas-and-draft-valves are readily set to form a burn-out connection, but it has not the advantage shown in Fig. 1 as to cooling the plant for repairs or retaining the heat during temporary suspensions of operation.

In the modification shown in Fig. 4, the flue-outlets are united until they reach the wateran parts of the du leX valves; the gas-va ve bein located pre erably in rear of the stack and t e air valve between the stack and regenerators, each stack-flue being controlled by a damper. This modification has the advantages of great simplicity in fiue arrangement and construction and a very short and direct burn-out connection. The manner of reversin the duplex valves 25, 26, 27, 28, Will be rea il understood, while the burn-out is opened by shifting both hoods 25, 26, of the duplex gas-valve to the same side of the center line of the furnace. In like manner, if desired, the air-intake may be connected direct to stack, to cool the latter.

The two. modifications shown in Figs. 5 and 6 will be readily understood from the modifications already described. These flue arrangements are well adapted to the use of reversing valves 29 of the type shown in Fig.

12 of my copending application above mentioned. When this form of valve is used, the burn-out connection may be opened by settin the valve in mid-position, as shown dotte in Fig. 6, and this may be accom' senses plished without breaking the water-seal, because of the deeper marginal flanges of the valve, which flange will maintain the seal while the shorter intermediate rib rests upon the flange of the central flue; thus connecting the vertical sections 10, 11 of the outside flues in Fig. 6. In the modification shown at the left of the center line of Fig. 5, the reversing valves 30 move in paths at right angles to each other; thus necessitating but a single air-intake for both air-regenerators It is evident that the gas-supply flues 10 may also be joined on the center line of the furnace, so as to be connected. to the gas-main through a single opening and closing valve of any desired type.

In the modification shown in Fig. 7, the supply-branches of the fiues are controlled by simple opening and closing valves 31, 32 of either the horizontally-reciprocatiiig or the lift type, while the draft-branches or dues are each controlled by a reversing valve as 33, 34. In reversing, in this modification, the supply-fines may remain closed for any desired length of time before shifting the draft-valves, and the same care is not necessary in reversing as when both sets of branches are equipped with reverse valves.

In the modification shown in Fig. 8 all fiues are provided with lift-valves; the airinlet valves 35 being preferably ordinary mushroom valves and the gas-supply valves 36 and draft valves 37, 38, water-sealed liftvalves of the type shown in my copending application Ser. No. 316,772. Vhth this arrangement of flues and valves, all the advantages of the construction shown in Fig. l are secured with shorter and more direct flues, and with cheaper and more readily operated valves which may be fully opened by a comparatively short lift. The method of reversing, of openin the burn-out and of sealing all draft-fines Wlll be readily apparent by com arison with Fig. 1 and wlthout further escription.

Many further modifications may be made in my system, by those skilled in the art, without de arting from my invention; since VVhatI c aim is 1. In a circulating system for furnaces, in combination, conduits comprising a flue having a plurality of branches, and a lurality of reciprocating valves constructed and arranged to permit the connection of any two of said conduits; substantially as described.

, 2. In a circulating system for furnaces, in combination, a regenerator, conduits, each comprising a flue having a plurality of branches, with vertical sections, and reciproeating valves controlling said vertical sec tions and adapted to permit the connection of any two of said conduits; substantially as described.

a 3. In a circulating system for furnaces, in combination, a regenerator flue having a plurality of branches, anda reciprocating valve for controlling each branch, said valves being adapted to'connect. their respective branches to supply and stack connections or to coo erate to directly connect the supply with tli described.

4, In a circulating system for furnaces, in combination, a regenerator-fiue having supply and stack branches, and inde endent valves for each of said branches; sai valves being adapted to cooperate to connect the su ply branch directly to the stack branch; substantially as described.

5. In a circulating system for furnaces, in combination, a regenerator, a flue therefor, said flue having two branches, a supply main,

- a stack and independent reciprocating valve branches, substantial adapted to connect the supply main to one flue-branch and the other flue-branch to stack, respectively; said valves being adapted to cooperate to connect. the supply main to the stack flue throu h the regenerator-fiue Iy as described.

6; In a circulating system for furnaces, in combination, a furnace chamber, regenerative chambers, supply and draft-flues, a stack, and valvesfor controlling the direction of flow of gases in said chambers; said valves being constructed and arranged to close the supply flues and to permit the simule stack connection; substantially as taneousconne-ction of all of said chambers to the stack; substantially as described.

7. A circulating system for furnaces comrespectively and independent water-sealed valves for controlling said regenerator-flue- 1 branches; said valves being adapted to connect the gas main and stack without the interposition of the regenerator substantially as described.

8. "A circulating system for furnaces comprising regenerators, supply-fines, stack-Hues, regenerator-flues ha each a plurality of branches, inlet valves for said supply-flues, and independent Water-scaled valves for each of said regenerator-flue-branches; said system being constructed and arranged to connect the 'supply-flues to stack without the .interposition of the regenerators, to simultaneously water-seal all the generators from the stack, or to simultaneously 0 en all regenerators' to the stack, as desire substantially as described. c

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JACOB BOWMAN MoKEN NAN. Witnesses:

JAs.-H. RoBINsoN, A. L. BENZ. 

